Chesapeake to Martha's Vineyard

The trip from Chesapeake to Martha’s Vineyard started very nicely, with a good sail out of the Bay on a nice combination of wind and tide. After that things changed rather quickly - from sun and wind behind to fog and wind on the nose. Our first day out we traveled 80 miles through the water to get 42 miles closer to where we were going; our second day out was a little better. Then the wind went from light to gale force, and we sat out three hours of heavy weather hove to before we started sailing again. After that we had about twenty-four hours to get to an anchorage before the next big blow. We set our bow for Martha’s Vineyard, and coaxed as much speed as we could out of the boat while the winds were light, sailing through a foggy night.

The next morning found us approaching Martha’s Vineyard in rising wind, enough to carry us through the current if we stayed relatively close to shore. And we managed to talk to one of our friends there, Dennis, by phone, and he offered to see us into the shelter of Lake Tashmoo and let us use his mooring there, since his boat was on the hard. We were flying along (for us) going in and out of the fog, watching our lat/longs and charting them frequently to make sure we stayed in good water, when we came around the last point before the entrance to Lake Tashmoo and saw the lights of his truck beckoning us in.

He helped us through the entrance, signaling where the water was deepest. We came safely through the entrance, aimed for the red buoy we had been told to hug - and ran aground on the sandbank beside the channel. We put up all available sail to try and sail ourselves off, tilted the boat well over - and stayed stuck. Richard started to put our dinghy together, to take an anchor out into the channel. He was about halfway through when a small sailboat motored briskly away from a dock and towards us, and one of the young men on board offered to row our anchor out into the channel so we could try and winch ourselves off. We were in the middle of doing that when Dennis called to say he was on his way with a fisherman, to help us off. The cavalry was coming.

Things got a little confusing for a short while, for two tired people who were really looking forward to being able to rest. But Dennis and his fisherman friend rapidly sorted us out, and before we knew it we were on our way down the Lake and then securely tied to Dennis’ mooring. And then they wished us a good rest, and left us appreciating how well a difficult sail can end with just a bit of willing help.

We tidied up the boat (your boat takes care of you, you take care of it), made sure things were secure for the coming blow, finished putting the dinghy together and fell into bed, leaving other considerations for the next morning. Late the next morning, which was when we woke up. Communications were the first order of business, so we walked in to town to a cafe where we could use the internet, then met Dennis and went with him to enjoy an afternoon of hospitality and help.

We started the next week with a ride from the kind fisherman who had hauled us off the shoal. He took us most of the way to a welder who would fix our outboard bracket for us - it was showing signs of rust and wear. Whit Hanschka at Fine Metalwork took time from creating much more elegant pieces to help us. That took care of one necessary task - we walked in to Vineyard Haven that day and several others to take care of the rest of the things we needed to do. We wanted to make sure we had provisions on board and would be ready to go when we could, even as we enjoyed the shelter and beauty of Lake Tashmoo.

It was almost a week before a break in the weather seemed imminent. Since we needed to leave Lake Tashmoo on the right tide and the tide we would need to help us across the Sounds and through the Pollock Rip Channel would run at a different time, we dropped Dennis’ mooring the day before our possible departure and made our way to Vineyard Haven. We anchored outside the breakwater for the night and the next day we ran errands and did laundry while we waited to find out our chances of leaving. When we found out the next day that there would be one more blow to sit through we moved on to a mooring ball in the harbor, a much better place to be when winds blow out of the north. Picking up the mooring in windy weather using the outboard proved a bit of an adventure, but we finally got settled, ran our last errands, stowed the dinghy on board and got ready to leave the next day, after the weather had settled down again.

We left a little later than we should have the next morning. That may be why we did not quite make it through the Pollock Rip Channel, even after a good sail with fair winds and good current across the sound. Or it may be because the wind dropped before we could get through; or because a wave detached the gas line from the motor as we were using it to try to get past those last two channel markers. Without wind or engine we did what many sailboats have done before us - dropped an anchor, and waited for the wind and current to change. It took five hours - enough time to enjoy supper, clean up, have a chat and a rest. Then the current slacked off and the wind came up just enough for Richard to coax Into The Blue past those last two markers, and we were on our way to Nova Scotia.

A curious seal had watched our progress through the channel, popping up at odd times in different spots. We last saw it as we turned toward Nova Scotia.